As the general election gets under way, members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) community, who say they have been “abandoned by the government for years,” are demanding action by political parties to represent them better.

The BAME community makes
up more than 14 percent of the UK population. According to new
research, Britain’s minority vote “may determine the outcome
of the 2015 election.”

An Operation Black Vote (OBV) study found the number of seats
where black and Asian voters could decide the outcome has
increased by 70 percent since the 2010 election.

Issues such as unemployment, immigration, criminal justice,
tuition fees, housing and health are core policies which matter
most to BAME minorities in Britain, the study found.

However, Labour figures released in March show the number of
BAMEs unemployed for more than a year had risen by nearly 50
percent under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

This often gets left out of mainstream Muslim-extremist
narratives-50% rise in long-term unemployment for the youth of
BAME communities

During a General Election Question Time debate held in London
last month, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said
the party is “working very hard” to better the situation
for BAMEs in the UK.

At the Question Time debate, Conservative Secretary of State for
Justice Chris Grayling said: “Bear in mind it has only been 5
years since we’ve had a Labour government. And it’s only been
five years since we were in the deepest financial crisis in
modern history.

Small steps, but good to see 3 out of 5 panellists on #QuestionTime
are BAME. And interesting that two of those three are
conservative

“Every political party should plan how they are going to
close the race in equality gaps,” Woolley said.

“Every aspect of our day to day lives is a subject to racial
penalties. We want black people to reclaim democracy,” he
added. “Unemployment, criminal justice and the voices of
young people” are issues which political parties need to
tackle.